Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Wicked King

Coming to the realization where your brother has become the sacrificial lamb of a masochistic political game is not a revelation that you would wish to figure out, yet Jude Duarte strengthens her heart amidst the striking irony to work harder in trampling the corrupted monarchy system of Elfhame. To simply put, by establishing this conflict, Black has cemented a definite plotline for The Wicked King to employ a gateway of the upcoming depraved interference.

As it is expected, the counteraction is effectively disadvantageous as it is destructively personal. Black illuminates the love game between Jude and Cardan into a reluctant alliance, building a tense atmosphere that maintains ambiguity of their deepest intentions between one another. And yet, beyond the extreme wariness of treachery, Black manages to find loopholes to explore the characters who seemingly lack compassion in their bones, traversing their personalities and history that appeal the most to their dominant qualities.

In doing so, it sways some of the stubborn natures that obstruct their likability as functioning characters, lowering certain parts of their mental guard to perceive the other aspects of their disposition, which contribute an indispensable role in instituting dynamic chemistry as they engage in an argument of wits.

It defines further on the romantic conjunction between Cardan and Jude that goes beyond seeking attention like children in emotional turmoil, analyzing intensely on their racial and class gap as creatures coming from slightly different magical realm despite their similarities. In doing so, as the audience reaches the shocking moment of betrayal at the end of the devastating cliffhanger, one could presume that Black has excelled in executing a romantic foil that is truthful in emotional imagery that its characters, and to the extent are the audience, allow themselves to give the benefit of the doubt in believing that the partnership would eventually work for their advantages.

And so, by writing an adventurously twisted The Wicked King, Black releases her phrasing power in envisioning a maliciously addicting story of mystical conspiracy and bad romance that purges all the uninteresting details that restrict the entertaining factor of The Cruel Prince before.

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onefineelephant's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

7/10. Much of what I didn't like about the first book carried on to this one, but I liked this one more because the plot seemed more cohesive and the romance aspect came more into focus. However, the romance isn't as fulfilling as I expected or wanted from this type of high-fantasy book. I don't like that Jude doesn't have a confidant, someone she trusts that she can talk to. I also really didn't like the ending because it seemed to erase all of the major plot points of the book in like 15 pages. I will say that there are some good lines throughout the book.

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lapis_lazuli's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

OMGGGGGG THE ENDING I CANT-

Spoiler

SCREW HIM OH MY FUXKING GOD I WANT TO KILL HIM MY GOD

Really good book tho, I was driven by it, wondering who was the traitor, who betrayed her. My attention was kept at every word. Extraordinary book.

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martiannadoor's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I read the first book in this trilogy and while I mildly enjoyed it, the last few chalters got me hooked, so I read the second one, and I found The Wicked King to not only be an excellent sequel, but also a lot more entertaining than the first installment. We see a lot more of the dynamic between Jude and Cardan, which gives more room for the characters to develop independently, and also with each other. I find the fantasy political aspect of Elfhame fascinating in this series and this books went even more in depth to it.

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teagstime's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Honestly I feel a little bad rating this <4★s, but I can't rationalize going any higher knowing I enjoyed the first book so much more!

Wicked King is a solid enough book, I just didn't really click with it until the final third 😔 I missed all the intrigue of the first novel!!! Plus, there was mostly just lot of frustration concerning Jude's thoughts/actions. Meanwhile, I was obsessed with... Pretty much all the non-Jude characters. Cardan was incredible, for example! Absolutely adored him and every scene he was in... I'm glad we got to see more of him being clever and competent! Other significant characters I found incredibly interesting were Madoc and Balekin, actually! I've always loved Madoc, but Balekin was a surprise... I really wanted to get inside his brain 😅

But anyway! Yeah! A nice read overall, but not as great when compared to the first imo ❤

[Star rating changed from 4 -> 3.5 after finishing the series]

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urlocalvocaloidstan's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

After finding out her younger brother Oak is the next Faerie king, Jude Duarte has to keep him safe, by making Cardan Greenbriar king. As the new high king seneschal, Jude now has to navigate Faerie politics and try to control Cardan at the same time. And now someone close to Jude is threatening to betray all the Faerie, so she must find the traitor while sorting her growing feelings for Cardan.

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v1rgo's review

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3.25

the pacing was sooo bad but this series is SO funny. not a fan of the whole horny ya thing. but oh well that's just me and this was written for teenagers. i also think cardan's character development after [redacted] was too sudden esp when u contrast it with how jude is. like she has not developed at all unless u count like. The plot further traumatizing her. also what happened to her at [redacted] was SA and i'm not a fan of that being brushed over. even if u look at the tws on here it's not mentioned. like that's so fucked. theoretically ik that is just how the books mayb r or her character bc she for sure has ptsd but i think that's a dumb excuse. like how is it that u devote more time to like the angstyness than THAT??? and there's no way jude hasn't realized that cardan ultimately is not very smart and just is into her. it's just typical ya angst ik but it's not done well. i thought their dynamic was going in a more original direction but i dunno if it is. n i think she sounded like a teenager more in the last one. like she's 18 max now. it's just not realistic. the part that was talking about cardan having catgirls on his wall was funny. also the very vague reference to yuri on ice. can't tell whether i'm a hater or just a lesbian and just like the romance bc i think it's funny but i think i preferred the first book

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zoecrepp's review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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